A martial arts expert and a relative of Muntinlupa City Mayor Jaime Fresnedi died from a gunshot wound, while his companion, a relative of Las Piñas City Mayor Vergel Aguilar, was wounded when a lone gunman shot them in front of a bar in Makati City at dawn Thursday. Supt. Jose Salido, criminal investigation division chief of Makati City police, identified the fatality as Emiliano Familiar, 28, of 94 J.P. Rizal Street, Muntinlupa. Arthuro Alvin Aguilar, 29, of 853 Acacia Extension, Ayala Alabang Village, Muntinlupa, sustained several gunshot wounds. The two, nephews of the Muntinlupa and Las Piñas mayors, were reportedly with Boy 2 “July” Quizon, grandson of comedian Dolphy and chief endorser of a leading cellular-phone brand.

Salido said Familiar was declared dead on arrival at the Makati Medical Center, while Aguilar was in serious condition at the hospital’s intensive care unit. Salido refused to reveal the identity of the suspect as investigators were still conducting a follow-up operation. Initial investigations showed that the incident took place in front of Olive Bar on Makati Avenue at 3 a.m. Familiar and Aguilar, after spending a couple of hours in the bar, went out to cool themselves, leaving Quizon behind. As the two walked up to the place where their vehicle was parked, a red Honda CRV with license plate WPD 506 stopped in front of them. Moments later, the man, armed with a .9mm pistol, fired at the two.

Salido said the police would be looking into the previous activities of Familiar and Aguilar, both reportedly members of the Philippine martial arts team. Probers said the assailant could either be a martial arts player, too, who could have figured in a tiff with the two victims. Investigators are also not ruling out the love angle as the motive for the attack.